Too Different Dreams
Working with multiple co-founders has a critical moment. I ask them to describe the desired future of the company in 3–5 years. They eagerly dive in, revealing what they thought was “obvious to everyone.”
Suddenly, it turns out they envision… very different companies.
Growth rate, geography, team, or scale can all differ. Not to mention plans to sell shares and levels of personal involvement. Sometimes, the company’s value differs several times over.
The question is — can the partners make decisions today?
Different destinations affect literally everything:
- Success indicators,
- Strategic priorities,
- Team composition,
- Investor and creditor involvement,
- Exit strategy, and so on.
Clearly, partners will often clash, increasingly frustrated by each other’s “stubbornness” and “stupidity.” Employees will also suffer, trying against all odds to reach the goals. But which goals?
It’s obvious why partners need to regularly align interests. But what if there’s only one owner? Sometimes the situation is similar.
The founder believes he (or she) has a clear vision for the business. Until he starts describing it in numbers and words. How much he doesn’t know about himself!
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
Want to learn how to apply this approach to your business? Then the Catalyst Session is designed specifically for you.
As a business therapist, I help tech founders increase their company’s value by catalyzing the changes they’ve needed for a long time. Testimonials from some of my clients are here.
I write about creativity, freedom, and meaning.
